


Full Disclosure

by Spellweaver



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, BDSM, Canon-Typical Violence, D/s, F/F, Modern Character in Thedas, Modern Girl in Thedas, Original Qunari Character(s) - Freeform, Qunari Culture and Customs, Qunari Physiology, Rating will be earned, Romance, Slow Burn, The Fade, Trying to apply Logic tm to magic, elfy shit
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-20
Updated: 2018-04-26
Packaged: 2018-10-29 19:00:16
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 20,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10860093
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spellweaver/pseuds/Spellweaver
Summary: As a Comp Sci university student and video game lover, Audrey Dogwood wasn't exactly built for a life of excitement and adventure. Not that she really has a choice anymore, with his mark on her hand.





	1. Rise

Her body was a world of pain and aches. Muscles that she didn’t know existed had probably called their lawyers. As such, the first thought that entered Audrey’s mind when she began to stir from sleep was, _‘holy fucking shit I think my legs want to tear themselves off and go on strike.’_

She stretched out, and then she froze. Not just from her muscles protesting, but this was not her bed. Her bed was a messy pile of blankets and comforters masquerading as a properly made bed. Her fingers scraped past unfamiliar sheets, not rough exactly, but nothing like her fluffy blankets. Not to mention the fact that she was on top of all the bedding. And wasn’t that weird. Her head was resting on something- not her pillows. But she could still feel the plush feel brushing the back of her neck and part of the back of her head. But not the whole back of her head... Something was holding it up?

Horns. She had horns. Not to mention the fact that she was finally taller than her younger brother… Significantly taller.

Audrey’s left palm was oddly bereft of pain, and tingly. As if she’d slept on it too long- but she’d been on her back not her side. And for it to center around her palm, just what had happened? Memories of what had happened tugged at the back of her mind, but that must have been a dream. Even if it had yet to fade, it would take but a few more minutes. Just. a. Few. more. Minutes.

An unfamiliar bed, and she was alone. However, Audrey was not the type to wake up in an unfamiliar bed. She was more of a socially anxious hermit, more likely to dream and fantasize than actually go out and do something. Although, part of Audrey wished she was. Particularly right fucking now, she could have put off dealing with reality a little longer. She’d never even been tipsy before, so even a drunken mistake could be discounted. The only place she wasn’t aching was kind of telling. She assumed when she actually did have sex, it would be more of a pleasant or even pleasurable ache. Well, she hoped. Kidnapping was a possibility, but Audrey doubted it. She couldn’t really think of one television show where the kidnapping victim had been changed into clean, well fitting clothes. And comfortable boots. When had they taken her size?

Not only that, it was tailor made. Despite the blandness, it didn’t look too bad on her not so thin frame. While the increase in height seemed to have, well, spread everything out a bit, it was obvious her body wasn’t exactly a honed martial weapon. Even if an exploratory poke to her arm revealed muscle that had definitely not been there before she crossed over. It kind of made sense, given her other changes. She would have not have survived if she’d been in exactly the shape she’d been in before crossing over.

“Denial isn’t a good look on me,’’ Audrey muttered to herself as she turned her attention to her surroundings. Yep. A wooden roof was above her. The familiar Inquisitor’s cabin revealed itself in front of her as she began to sit up and took a proper look. Pelts were on the wall. A crow with beady black eyes stared back from the cage it was in on the worn wooden planked floor. It cawed softly as she stared at it. Something weighed heavily in the pit of her stomach, but she pushed down on the rising panic. She could handle this.

Distantly, she watched as frost began to spread from where her hands made contact with the duvet below her. A few nice deep breaths and the swirling patterns of ice stopped spreading. A quick glance down and she confirmed that yes, she was wearing the ugly beige pyjamas. She tried not to think about how that meant someone had taken the time to redress her in her sleep. She was also much cleaner than she had been before. There was nary a trace of the demon gunk nor faint traces of blood. She had been bathed as well, but by who? They were either very dedicated cosplay kidnappers, or, almost on cue-

“Oh.” the familiar elven servant squeaked as she dropped a box. “I didn’t know you were awake, I swear!”

The sound of glass breaking made Audrey wince. For more reasons than one. All she could think about was her friend Lonely’s story Dislocated Souls. Leorah, if that was her name here, would be beaten for her mistake. She certainly was skittish enough, and given how Audrey knew elves were treated in canon...

“Don’t worry about it, I only- ”

Leorah(?) prostrated herself on the ground,  “I beg your forgiveness and your blessing. I am but a humble servant.”

Audrey could see how much the poor elven woman was shaking, but the elf continued with but a little waver in her voice,“You are back in Haven, my Lady. They say you saved us. The breach stopped growing, just like the mark on your hand.”

That reminder was certainly something that made Audrey’s pulse speed up, and she couldn’t help but check her left palm. Her heart skipped a couple beats as a familiar green glow met her brown eyes. Close as it was to her face, she could see the minute black flesh around the crevice in her hand even without her glasses on. _Trespasser._ And, and her skin had a greyish tinge. She took a deep breath. Panicking wouldn’t help anything. Even if curling back up in bed and ignoring the world for a little while longer sounded nice.

“It’s all anyone has talked about for the last three days.” Leorah finally looked up and met Audrey’s eyes. Pretty hazel eyes that the game did no justice to, wide with fear. Their eyes met for mere moments, before the elven woman averted her eyes. Audrey knew how this conversation was meant to go, ending with the elven woman running off, never to be seen by the Herald again.  Something about the fear in the other woman’s eyes made her feel sick. _‘I don’t want_ anyone _to be afraid of me, ever.’_

“Stand up. Y-you don’t need to bow. I should have said something before, but but I just woke up, you know? And I’m Audrey Dogwood, you can call me Audrey. What’s your name?” Audrey was now sitting on the side of her bed, but made no move to go towards the elf…. She didn’t want to scare her off. That was certainly something that stuck out from the intro- the elf ran off once the Herald got up, almost withdrawing into herself as she ran off. Audrey also made sure to soften her voice- not to the extent she would use to talk to a child, but obviously trying to come off as non-threatening. Though, for all she knew that would make it worse.

“My lady that would hardly be... that would hardly be appropriate!” At the very least, the elven woman now stood up, though her hunched posture and avoidance of actually meeting her eyes made Audrey kind of regret going off the script.

“It is if I give you permission, isn’t it? Besides, I’m no Lady. My mum use to serve a noble family as a nanny and everything, till she had to retire when she married and started having kids of her own.”

Audrey could see the elven woman take a moment to think it over, “I’m Keeva” The smile on her face was quite forced and Audrey had to hide a cringe.

Audrey inclined her head and smiled, “It’s nice to meet you Keeva.” She took a moment to think, would offering to shake hands be normal? She decided against it, best not to risk trying to force bodily contact, who knows how well that would go over. Uh, it was probably time to bring the conversation back around, who knows if dilly dallying would get Keeva in trouble. Maybe it would be best to bring her with her… if she showed she was aware of her existence and would give a shit if something happened.

“So, uh, everything's good now?”

“The Breach is still in the sky, but that’s what they say.” Keeva paused and jumped, she must have remembered “I’m certain Lady Cassandra would want to know you’ve wakened. She said, ‘at once.’”

“Can you take me there to see her? I’m afraid I don’t really remember my way around here. The last time Cassandra was kinda dragging me to the Temple, not much time for sightseeing.” And oh, hadn't that just been lovely. If glares could kill, she’d have been dead _at least_ ten times over. Just the thought of heading out to the crowd that she knew awaited her wasn’t exactly something she looked forward to. Even if her reception would be decidedly warmer, Audrey had never been one for crowds. They’d all be looking at her, and whispering. It was making her nervous… and considering that, what, three days ago now, she’d seen demons up close and personal and lived to tell the tale, that was saying something.

“Lady Cassandra is in the Chantry, with the Lord Chancellor. ‘At once.’ She said.”  Audrey could recognize the building anxiety in Keeva. Was Cassandra herself difficult on the Inquisitions workforce? Or was it a reaction retained from much worse employers?

Keeva wasn’t running away though, and she looked expectantly at Audrey. Audrey had stayed comfortably seated on the side of the bed, and perhaps that had been enough not to scare her off. Honestly, she didn’t want to leave. Given how sore she was, she wasn’t sure if she could actually fucking walk to the Chantry in the first place. It would be a much longer walk than it was in game.

And that was certainly interesting to contemplate… Haven, what little she had seen of it before she’d been carted off, was much, much larger than it was in the game. It made sense, they had to simplify certain things in order to fit it in everything they needed to, even ignoring the cuts they’d had to have made to fit on the 360 and PS3. So, she could honestly say she’d get lost on the way there. And she needed to take responsibility for the broken potions. No need to get Keeva in trouble, but just drawing attention to her may have some unintended consequences.

“Please Keeva, I need help to get there. I’d appreciate it a lot if you could be the one to guide me to the Chantry… and I really want to make sure you don’t get in trouble for the dropped potions, it was my fault for startling you in the first place. And I know it will keep you from your duties, but you’ve done me a great service by telling me how everything is now.”

Keeva took a few tense second to think, teeth teasing her bottom lip before she replied,“Since you insist, my lady, I’ll take you to the Chantry. Lady Cassandra said ‘at once’,  so we must head out now.”

Audrey gave Keeva a bright smile and said, “Thank you, and please, call me Audrey. Just, give me a few moments to gather myself together” even as she realised that she hadn’t really given the elf a choice. But she didn’t want whatever might happen to her to weigh on her own conscious. Even if it was only a potential future that was building up in her head. Anxiety was fun to deal with.

She could feel the weight of everything that had happened dragging her down, but Audrey put that to the side and tried to stand up. Try being the keyword there. Magic must have healed all the cuts and bruises she’d gotten from her journey to the Fucking Temple, but even that didn’t save her from the fact her fatass wasn’t use to scaling mountains, ladders and hiking in general.

But, Audrey steeled herself and got up. Maybe walking would help to loosen her up a bit. She’d been in bed for three days so you’d have thought she’d have been better by now. Or maybe that was why she was so fucking sore, not properly moving for three days?

Audrey took a moment to think about whether she’d do the RPG thing and look at every nook and cranny before moving on. That probably would not go over well now… now that everything was real. People would look at her weird.

That was when she realized that there was, however, something she did need to find. Her glasses. Given the mention of spectacles in Dragon Age lore, they must have known what they were. So, if they came through with her, perhaps someone would have left it in her room. Probably on the desk where the codex entry was. Responding to her need, Audrey could feel her magic tingle down her torso, through her thighs, then through her calves and finally pulse out from her feet. She felt a pull towards the corner of the room, as well as a familiar bell sound. Was it the note, or would her glasses be there? Given what had happened on the way to The Temple and at it, Audrey was keeping an open mind.

With a quick, “I need to go check something on the desk.” She meandered over to the desk, and lo and behold there were her glasses.

Audrey snatched them up to examine them. They were not damaged in any way Audrey could tell. She’d actually been glad to not have them back when she first arrived. Grey blobs that tasted like insanity seemed preferable to being able to see the shades in full detail. She could see perfectly fine up close, but further than a wrist length away and her sight deteriorated.

With her glasses on, she tried to see if anything else of her’s was on the desk. Her cleaning cloth was also there, which to her surprise was actually pretty comforting. Audrey picked it up and felt the soft cloth between her fingers. It was the one she’d received when she’d bought a copy of Pokemon X and Y’s guidebook, so it was very colourful with the trio of starters on one side with the two legendaries on the other.

Patting herself down revealed no pockets… so Audrey cringed and put it down her boot. It shouldn’t get too dirty as long as she didn’t have it in the boots long enough for it to get stinky. Giving a quick glance around didn’t reveal anything else, so Audrey headed back over to Keeva, who had migrated to just before the door. She nodded at Keeva and they made their way to the door. Audrey wondered if there’d be the big crowd, since Keeva hadn’t had the chance to run out of the hut, but if memory served they all expected the Herald to wake up that morning regardless.

“Alrighty, I’m ready to go.”

As Keeva opened up the front door Audrey couldn’t help but wince at the crowd that awaited her. The game did not give it justice, the sheer amount of people who were there waiting for her. The guards clearing a path turned to her and did the chest thump salute thing. Audrey gulped.

“That’s her. That’s the Herald of Andraste. They said when she came out of the Fade, Andraste herself was watching over her.”

“Hush! We shouldn’t disturb her.”

So that was certainly something. Ambient dialogue from the game was also certainly making an appearance.

“Lead the way please Keeva. I’d like to get to Cassandra as quickly as possible.”

Keeva nodded, but didn’t say anything. Audrey kind of wanted to grab onto Keeva’s hand or something, just for some moral support on their way to the Chantry, but she knew that it wouldn’t be well received. Keeva probably wouldn’t protest… but touching someone without their approval was… ew. So, Audrey concentrated on Keeva, and not on the crowd around them as they made their way to the stone steps led to the level the Chantry was on. She could see it from here, it was the tallest building after all, but that would hardly have helped her navigate the winding roads. No street signs here. Just a town actually large enough to support the baby Inquisition and the locals.

“Why did Lady Cassandra have her in chains? I thought Seekers knew everything.”

“It’s complicated. We were all frightened after the explosion at the Conclave.”

“It isn’t complicated. Andraste herself blessed her.”

Audrey was peripherally aware of the fact that some of the guards continued to follow her, at a distance. More than a couple were Templars. Would someone try to attack her? Luckily, the further away from the starting hut they got the more the crowd thinned and then finally dissipated. They must have known she was going to wake up… and so a bunch of them gathered near her hut. Did she already have groupies?

The occasional greeting went in one ear and out the other, though Audrey did make the effort to smile and nod. She knew the gist of what everyone was talking about. The Breach. How she’d sealed it. What would happen now. Audrey couldn’t help but ask herself, what _would_ happen now?

They hurried up familiar stone stairs, and Audrey was able to better situate herself. This she could say was very much like the game, The Chantry was in clear view. Soon it would be time to part ways with Keeva and dive in head first into plot.

First she had to ensure that Keeva would not get in trouble for dropping the potions, and then taking the time to help Audrey find her way to the Chantry. Quarter Master Threnn would be no help, perhaps even a hindrance, if her casual use of knife-ear and other slurs in any way indicated. The best person to go to would be Josephine, but she’d not see her until after the whole thing with Roderick was over. Who knows how long Keeva might have to wait outside the office, and without Audrey herself beside her, who knew what would happen. Maybe she’d been a little too hasty. But just the fact that they’d been seen together in a positive fashion would be enough protection? Could she order around guards yet? Hmm…

“Thank you Keeva, please explain to your supervisor that you were helping me, and that if they want to go to anyone regarding the broken potions, to talk to me directly. I’ll talk to the Lady Ambassador about it when I can… who knows what Cassandra wants to talk to me about, or what.” Audrey paused to think, did she have any authority yet? You know what, hell yes she did, she was the fucking Herald of Andraste. That better come with some fucking perks.

“Um, excuse me ser,” Audrey addressed one of the armed guards that had followed her, “Could you please escort her wherever she needs to go? I accidentally made her drop a box on potions on the floor. I’d be so upset if she got in trouble for my mistakes, she was really helpful in guiding me here.”

The guard lady raised a single red eyebrow, but acquiesced with an inclined head and simple, “As you say, Lady Herald.”

And then, with a, “I-I thank you, my lady.”  Keeva scurried off, the guard lady not far behind.

At least somewhat satisfied, Audrey took a deep breath and pushed the massive fucking doors of the Chantry open. She managed to hear a few scant seconds of chatter before it quieted. There were still the occasional murmur and curious glance, but for the most part they left her alone.

Now was not the time to freak out, but as the door grew closer Audrey could feel herself panicking a little... But now was not the fucking time to shut down. This happened when she was around new people, happened to get into a confrontation or otherwise became overwhelmed… her words just up and kinda left the building. Well, she could still talk, just not well. Audrey heard a person behind her keeping the door open a moment longer, and then crunching boots following her. Who wanted to bet they were a Templar?

Walking towards the War Room, a quick glance to her left revealed the little alcove Vivienne would settle down into. The desk and chair were already there, although the book and letter weren’t there. It made sense, they must have belonged to Vivienne.

She kept walking, one foot in front of the other, until she arrived at the door to the War Room. She was about to open the door, her hand was pressed against the smooth wood planes of it, when a very familiar conversation met her ears. Audrey took the time to listen in.

So far, so good. Everything was following the script, with only a few differences, that she herself had instigated. Taking a deep breath, Audrey took the next step and pushed the door open.

Roderik snapped towards Audrey, “Chain her. I want her prepared for travel to the capital for trial.”

Two armoured Templars turned from their stations towards her and Audrey had to stop herself from recoiling at the sight. Cassandra should intervene, and a show of weakness might be something Roderick would try to exploit. Audrey couldn’t remember if she was supposed to ignore them and walk further in, or just stay where she was.

“Disregard that, and leave us.” Cassandra commanded, as expected.

The Templars saluted Cassandra. Audrey jumped a little before she moved out of their way. And oh shit there was divergence number one, as Cullen entered the room after the attending Templars had left. He said nothing as he entered, but was looking at Audrey with a guarded expression. Fuck. But Audrey moved closer to the War Table, away from the door. No need to get in the way when Roderick left.

“You walk a dangerous line, Seeker.”

“The Breach is stable, but it is still a threat. I will not ignore it.”

By the script, or should she diverge? Cullen’s presence was already enough of an upheaval, despite the fact that he was staying silent. The longer she kept things to the way they were in the game, the longer she could avoid the repercussions of changing everything beyond what she knew. At least until she had time to plan. She suppressed the urge to flap her hands. Anxious stimming now would be a really bad idea.

So, in the hopes that not too much would be different, Audrey interjected, “I did everything I could to close the Breach. I almost died.”

“Yet you live. A convenient result, insofar as you’re concerned.” Roderick sneered. Audrey had to stop herself from flinching away.

She kind of wished there was a way to bring Chancellor Roderick to her side. The game never gave you a chance to. A lot of people hated him, for standing against the player character. He was not a bad man, just a scared one doing what he thought was best for his people. The fact that it could perhaps be the worst thing possible to do was almost an afterthought. But this… this was not a video game. She could hear them continue to bicker. It was very, very real… so...

“Someone was behind the explosion at the Conclave. Someone Most Holy did not expect. Perhaps they died with the others – or have allies who yet live.” Leliana added as she glided into their discussion. Despite addressing Roderick, Leliana took a noticeable time to look Audrey over from top to bottom. It was not sexual, it lacked the heat. Audrey felt more like the bovine heart she’d dissected in high school. Cut apart, held open while its inner workings were identified and tagged. She wondered how long Leliana had been watching before stepping in.

Wait. Leliana. Her memory of how she got here was gone- the fucking Nightmare demon, but she could still remember it existed, so that was certainly something. Telling Leliana was something that had crossed her mind not too long after waking up the first time. She couldn’t do this alone. At some point she’d screw up, or the pressure would otherwise get to her.  Hell, for all she knew the Nightmare had seen a hint of what she knew. Thanks to the mark she knew she would be hard for spirits- and therefore demons- to read, but all it would take is one very important piece to slip through the cracks. The cat would get out of the bag, in the worst way possible. She could already imagine the Nightmare’s taunts. All her knowledge could be made obsolete, everything could go to hell in a handbasket way too quickly.

Dragon Age had seers, that much was canon, even if they only saw the past by channeling spirits. Still the idea that someone could see potential future events would not be that far fetched. And she was the motherfucking Herald of Andraste… so the idea of if they’d believe her was moot. They needed her regardless. The idea of being treated like she was delusional was more that a little terrifying. Just the situation she was in was enough to call Audrey’s sanity into question. Her foggy memories could more than help turn things to the Inquisition’s advantage or ruin everything. But if everything was going to change anyway, if only out of her presence here, or if worst case scenario the Nightmare got hold of something that could help Corypheus...

Actually... her glasses cloth being here implied that she’d had her bookbag with her. And chances were if she had come through with her bookbag, her cellphone and maybe her laptop should be here too. She had all three dragon age games installed on her laptop. She had all of the books not only on her laptop, but also on her cellphone. She could also have her hardcover of World of Thedas Volume Two, but that was doubtful. It was a pretty heavy book, not something she often lugged along with her. But that would be some pretty hefty, solid, foreknowledge that they could rely on. At least in the beginning.

Although, Leliana was going through an existential crisis right now, putting that kind of strain on her now? It might break her, might make it impossible to soften her. And wasn’t that a thought? A precise, formulaic way to change someone in real life. There was no way it’d be that simple in real life. This was real, the pain she went through in the beginning was more than enough to prove it.

Different possibilities flashed in front of her eyes. Despite that certain train of thought, out of everyone who she had access to, Leliana could-

‘ _Now’s not the time for speculating, I_ have _to pay attention goddamnit._ ’ Audrey chastised herself as she brought herself back into the conversation.

“ – Maker sent her to us in our darkest hour.”  
“So you’ve changed your mind about me.” Audrey was barely able to chime in on time.

And so things continued as usual, the only difference being Cullen glowering in the background. Audrey could understand why, even if it would soon be annoying to deal with. She was, after all, a newly minted mage who not only had admitted that she’d not had magic before the Breach, but also had very powerful magic that she couldn’t really control. She’d been frank with them, to a point. Audrey very much wanted to live up to what she’d told Varric, that ‘honesty is the best policy’. Even if just by saying that she’d already made a liar out of herself. Because really, in a case like this, honesty was _not_ the best policy. Well, until she could come up with a better plan of action than “follow what she could remember of the script”. She had the prologue near memorized at this point, but everything else… well, her memory wasn’t the best. She had to stop herself from mouthing some of the lines.

Audrey interjected when she needed to, but kept quiet otherwise. She couldn’t stop herself from flinching when Cassandra slammed the Writ down on the Table. She couldn't help but feel admiration when Cassandra tore down the Chancellor and sent him scurrying away.

Leliana began to approach her and said, “This is the Divine’s directive: Rebuild the Inquisition of old. Find those who will stand against the chaos. We aren’t ready. We have no leader, no numbers, and now no Chantry support.”

Now that Audrey was actually living the scene she had to admit that it sounded rehearsed as Cassandra added, “But we have no choice: We must act now. With you at our side.”

She heard a man clear his throat from a direction she had pointedly not been looking at. A quick glance revealed that Cullen had left the place where he had been leaning against the wall... She could also see Leliana momentarily scrunch her nose, an odd expression to see on the former Bard’s face. It must have been deliberate then, but why?

“Leliana, you cannot ignore the fact that she needs training. We cannot send an unharrowed, completely green mage out on the field. She’s a threat to herself and those around her right now.”

“Solas has said he will take care of helping her become competent. She will have perhaps a few weeks to familiarize herself before we decide upon our next course of action.”

“The apostate? You would trust the apostate with her tutelage? We need a proper circle mage to teach her. At least then we could trust that they would see to teaching her proper wariness. What if she becomes an abomination out of her inexperience, and his negligence? Where will we stand then?”

“I will be there Cullen. I will keep an eye on her. Leliana is correct, at the moment Solas is the best choice we have. He knew of the mark, and was able to keep her alive long enough to close The Breach. As the mark appears to be the source of her magic, that would make him best suited to teaching-”

“Excuse me, I’m right here you know. I am perfectly willing to go along with you and help save the world, but we’ll do it on my terms.”

Audrey took a moment to let that sink in, “If Solas is knowledgeable enough about the mark on my hand, then he would probably be the best to help me learn how to use the magic that came with the fu-darn thing. And besides, with the world the way it is, how will we even be able to track down another teacher? There is _no_ time to waste.”


	2. Do not go gentle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Audrey drops a truth bomb on her advisers.

Cullen grunted, but acquiesced. He knew a losing battle when he saw one. Who knew if the issue would come up again later but at the moment it didn’t matter. They did not have the time to quibble over who’d teach her. This wasn’t a game, and she was the one with the mark. She was one of the idiots living here now, and she planned to live a long life thank you very much, when all was said and done. Kind of hard to do that with a fucking hole in the sky, and Red Lyrium sprouting up like eldritch dandelions.  
  
“I am glad we share the same sentiments, Herald. The apostate will be suitable until we can find a proper replacement Cullen.” Cassandra looked at the remove sullen Templar.  
  
“That would be… acceptable, I suppose. We do need her out in the field as soon as possible. We should have Josephine look for a replacement in the meanwhile.” Cullen responded, threading his bare hand through his blonde curls. That was another thing Audrey had noticed. They all had more than a passing resemblance to their appearance from in the games. Seeing animated characters living and breathing, and real. Was odd. To say the least.  
  
Audrey froze. She could think of one person who’d be able to provide the Chantry certified tutoring they were looking for. But would Vivienne go for it? This early in the game they didn’t have much to offer in power or influence. They must show their potential, even this early on in the game. Now that she thought of it, Vivienne did contact the Herald soon after they entered Val Royeaux. So it must have been a matter of time and resources-  
  
“Do you have someone to suggest, Herald?” Leliana asked, head tilted backwards, looking at Audrey down her nose. A power play?  
  
“Uh, well, maybe? Kinda hard to explain how I know of it. There’s a former, loyal, Senior Enchanter somewhere around the Val Royeaux area. You’ve heard of her. Madame de Fer, Vivienne. The former Arcane Advisor to the Imperial Court, Senior Enchanter. I assume she's taken on an apprentice or two before,” Audrey paused considering her next words. “I think she’d be willing to help us. Solas would be best for now, but I’m of the mind that having more than one teacher would be a good thing. I’d be able to get a variety of perspectives. Gives us a better chance of survival.”  
  
Not her only reason, no. But when the truth came out, the world knowing her as the “Dread Wolf’s Apprentice” would not look good. Being able to put Vivienne down as a reference on her CV would work against what would be a black mark on her record. He wouldn’t only be another member of her inner circle… he would also be her teacher. Her first teacher.  
  
“Madame de Fer? Are you from Orlais? Your pronunciation is impressive.” Leliana questioned Audrey.  
  
“Well, if I wasn’t talking to someone from Orlais I’d say I speak Orlesian rather well. But eh, different standards. And uh, I guess if you look at it a certain way and squint, you could say I’m an Fereldan immigrant to Orlais.”   
  
“You’re evading the question,” Cassandra growled, “Where do you hail from?”  
  
“Hail from…? Well, I guess it doesn’t matter anymore.”  
  
Returning home? Well, given how she had no clue how’d she even ended up here, Audrey doubted she’d be returning any time soon. The Nightmare might give her clues, but that was months away, at best. She needed to not die. And to not die, she needed to learn how to fight and not be squishy. Or at least not be a burden to carry in battle. With the mark on her hand, she had no choice but to be on the front line.  
  
Cassandra snorted and reiterated, “That still does not answer my question.”  
  
But still the decision remained. Did she come clean or not? There were pros and cons to both sides of it. Not telling would leave her past a total blank slate to everyone else. It would also be pretty fucking suspicious in reality. The Inquisitor was a blank slate. Designed that way so it was easier for the player to roleplay, despite the large variety of origins. So she could see how she could in theory slide into the Adaar sized hole with little to no problem. Wait, Adaar. Hell, now that she thought of it, as a “Qunari” Inquisitor they’d target the local Vashoth. And she had no contacts with the Valos-Kas so they wouldn’t contact her for help. Shit.  
  
There must have a sign of the introspection on her face, as there was a sudden thump of a hard cover book on the table. Audrey jumped. And it wasn’t the distinctive sound of the Writ either, in fact in kind of sounded like…  
  
Cassandra’s face stared up at her from the table. A very beautiful rendition, and Audrey thought it caught the intensity of the Seeker’s gaze well. Everyone went silent. She hadn’t realized they’d continued chatting when she fell into thought. Audrey could feel the ball of anxiety start to claw up her throat. World of Thedas Volume II had made it through with her. Good to know.  
  
Leliana perked up an eyebrow and said, “We have decided to give you the chance to explain what this is.”  
  
Well, shit. There were some very interesting pictures in that book, the least of all being Cassandra’s face on the cover. A very distinctive one in particular came to mind. There was a green rendition of Solas’ fresco of The Breach inside of both covers. The book contained a lot of information on the background of the games and its characters. But nothing of the end game of Inquisition. Or Inquisition's DLC. Background info that one could find if one knew where to look. But enough that they wouldn’t write her off as insane.  
  
There would be no planning, but she could gain a few more precious moments.  
  
“Uh, Lady Montilyet should be here for this conversation.”  
  
Leliana hummed and replied, “Josie has a prior engagement that should not take much longer. She should be here soon enough. While I concede your point, I will admit that I am curious about the other items we also found with your person.”  
  
“And I do find it odd that this book has my face on the cover, and the writing is in a language none of us are familiar with. The closest would we have found would be Tevene.” Cassandra interjected. Audrey would call the look on Cassandra’s face frustrated as hell. But the other woman had yet to lash out.  
  
It was at that moment Audrey realized the significance of the fact that she’d been asleep for three days. Three days for them to talk and plan about what to do, what to do with her. They needed her on board. Or well, life would be much easier if she agreed to help them. A shiver went up her spine at the thought.in a way, Audrey was lucky to have the Mark. She’d been able to close the Breach, as well as smaller rifts. She’d shown a small sample of what she could do for them.  
  
She’d read enough hypothetical fanfics to know she’d dodged a bullet. A bomb? If they had the book, but could not read it… Not to mention, why the fuck was the book with her to begin with? It usually found its home on her desk, under her laptop.  
  
“I will share everything I know, but you have to remember I’m only hu- a person. My memory isn’t perfect. And I need to know exactly what I came here with. That will change how we’re gonna go about with this a lot. And I have no idea where I should even start… there’s so much that I need to share for it to make sense.”  
  
A small, satisfied smile passed over Leliana’s lips, “I am glad you are deciding to be reasonable. If we are to close the Breach, a unified front would be best.”  
  
Audrey tried to stop herself from grumbling. She’d screwed up already. She hated herself when she did that- babble on without prompting.  
  
“Unified front? We know nothing about her Leliana, even your spies have uncovered nothing.” Cullen fingered his pommel, “You said it yourself, none of the survivors we can track down even know who she is.”  
  
“Oh, she’s said plenty already-” There was a knock at the door, cutting off whatever Leliana was about to say. Chances were, it was Josephine come to join in on the fun. That was actually kind of reassuring, the fact that Josephine was going to be there with them. She was likely to be a voice of reason.  
  
The door creaked open in an otherwise silent room. Had it squeaked that loud when she’d come in? Or was it the tension that she was becoming aware of? Her own anxiety?  
“I apologize for my tardiness, Leliana, Cassandra, Cullen, and?" Josephine paused, looking up at Audrey. "I imagine you are the Herald?” She then greeted Audrey with a kind smile.  
  
Cassandra nodded, “Josephine, she is indeed the Herald of Andraste, Audrey Dogwood. Herald, this is Lady Josephine Montilyet, our ambassador and chief diplomat.”  
  
“You’re… taller than I expected, but nice to meet you. I have managed to soothe Madame D’Eglise’s displeasure with her housing situation. Her family is not on good terms with the House of DuRellion. The past few days have been so hectic, it slipped my mind that it would be an issue.”  
  
“Herald, now that Josie is here, perhaps it would be best for you to tell us about yourself? That is usually a good beginning.” Leliana was polite, but something about the look in her eyes and the tilt of her chin made Audrey want to spill her guts.  
  
At that point, Audrey reflected, there was not much left for her to lose.  
  
“Well, uh, I-I’m Audrey Dogwood, but I guess you know that already. I come a pretty big family, one older brother and a mixed bunch of younger siblings. My parents are still married. I’ve had a few close friends, and single. I’m working on a degree in Computer Science- but I guess that doesn’t mean much to you. Uhhh it’s kinda a mix of mathematics, logic and languages mushed together.”  
  
“You go to University then. Where?” Leliana asked with a smile.  
  
A higher level of education could reveal a lot about someone. Particularly given where and to a certain kind of extent when they were. In Thedas a university level education for a Tal-vashoth? If it had happened at all, it would have been in Orlais. A rich couple sponsoring a pet Qunari would have been well known. Made waves through tittering gossip and percolated through webs of influence. It would have made the news.  
  
And there would have been no news. The University of Orlais had opened up its admissions under Celene. She knew of only one elf who had entered the university under that policy. Par Vollen, she assumed, had some sort of university or trade school system to teach. about at all in the south. Audrey knew she was leaving them with more questions than answers. But that was on purpose because fuck it, she was going to tell them everything.  
  
“I’m not from around here, if you hadn’t already gathered that. Though the extent to which I don’t come from here, well, you’ll find it hard to believe. But given the fact that the sky has cracked open, I hope you can find it within yourselves to be a little more open minded. I'm letting you know now, so please, prepare yourselves.” Audrey took a breath, a feeling of doom pooling in her chest, but she carried on, “you wouldn’t know the place or name. Do the names ‘North America’ or ‘Canada’ mean anything to you?” Audrey paused to let that sink in.  
  
Leliana pursed her lips. “I once knew a person who also claimed to have been from ‘far away’, I later found he was talking of another world. Not the Fade, mind you. He also mentioned an America, the United States of America.” Here she paused. Her eyes focused somewhere beside Audrey, towards the stone wall but looking beyond. “Land of the free and home of the-” her hand went to her forehead and she grimaced. She took a moment to readjust her hair, sweeping it all to one side where it stayed. It had a certain unwashed, greasy look. Audrey took a moment to breathe. She hadn’t payed too much attention to what everyone looked like. As they did resemble their in game look. It was funny then, how Leliana’s hairstyle changing a little seemed to stand out to Audrey. She started to notice other little details in Leliana.  
  
The shape of her pert lips, framed by a somewhat greasy but otherwise pristine jawline. High cheekbones and solemn bright blue eyes hooded by long lashes. There were more signs of aging on her face than in the game. She had faint laugh lines that belied her current serious expression. The stressful situation emphasized crow's feet and worry lines. Her hair lightened to a soft silvery white in places near the roots. Leliana was a beautiful woman who had aged with grace given the exciting life she had. She had look of a person who had been too busy to bathe or otherwise care for herself for the past few days. Which would make a lot of sense, given the circumstances.  
  
If, that is, they bathed often here. The games portrayed Thedas as rather medieval. And look at that, a single raised eyebrow. Audrey decided to continue the conversation. She could tell her staring was making her come off as a creeper.  
  
She was about to start again, but Cassandra interjected, “Are you serious Leliana? Another world?”  
  
Audrey could feel her stomach drop to the bottom of her feet… if they didn’t believe, if they treated her like she was crazy.... The thought made her want to throw up. And if they didn’t believe this, well, what were the chances of them believing what else she had to share?  
  
Thus it was for the best that Josephine decided to step in and interrupt. “That is… rather hard to take in. But given the circumstance, it is not too hard to believe.”  
  
“Ezekiel has been dead for years now, but what he said, what I have seen. Well, rest assured I can keep more than an ‘open mind’,” Leliana replied.  
  
“I have never heard you talk of this ‘Ezekiel’ Leliana,” Cassandra growled.  
  
“A conversation for another time, Cassandra, we should focus on what she has to say.” Leliana shut Cassandra down. Cassandra acquiesced with a curt nod. From the look in her eye Audrey could make an educated guess that there’d be a talk later.  
  
Audrey took a deep breath. They remained quiet, but she could feel the expectation in the air. All Audrey could hear was the rushing of the blood through her veins. Well, she’d been talking about Dragon Age lore on Discord with a bunch of people for a while now. This wasn't too different from that, right?  
  
Not like it was the difference between life and death, oh no.  
  
“I’ll get straight to the point, I know everything, well not everything. Umm... Imagine, if you will, a book series.” She couldn’t help but look at Cassandra as she said so, resulting in a look, but she moved on, “So, I’ve read the first three books. The series is huge, so they’ve shared background information in complementary books. Or plays would be a better way to describe them…”  
  
Audrey took a moment to swallow and when she went to scratch her head, but she stopped as her fingers met bone. Oh, those. She hadn’t had the chance to look in any sort of reflective surface yet. She wasn’t sure she could pass feeling up her rack as a nervous tic. Not knowing what she looked like, well, there were better feelings in the world. Josephine cleared her throat. Right.  
  
“That book on the table, the one with Cassandra’s face? Has a bunch of stuff that was in the first three plays. And some extra tidbits, like portraits and recipes, to excite fans. But nothing particularly groundbreaking, or would ruin the end of the play- or uh”  
  
How could she explain DLC?  
  
“So, imagine if you will, a play that lets the audience make some decisions. Who lives, who dies, branching paths at major decisions that can change things. But, not in a way that would make them completely make everything different. An example would be siding with the Mages or Templars when Meredith went batshit-”  
  
Yes, that was definitely a flinch from Cullen. And, if at all possible, his eyes narrowed even more. Fun. But he remained quiet.  
“Or if the Warden chose to side with the werewolves, the elves or forced a treaty between them. Different methods, same basic result when the story comes to a close. It lays the path for the next play, a self contained story within itself. I know the different paths, to a certain extent, and the cause and effect behind them. And that all the different paths have to coexist in the next play. So the decisions made always branch together, or they change minor things. But still, what I know were only stories. Tales, like the Tale of the Champion. So I know the broad strokes of what happens, what might have happened, and any particularly juicy bits.”  
  
Cullen’s complexion was pallid as he grunted, “And I’m guessing, from your dramatic build up, that we appear in them?”  
  
“Yes, you do. You all do. The first book covers the Tale of the Warden, the second is the Tale of The Champion. Which might not be too different from what you know, Cassandra. Given the fact that it’s Varric telling of the tale while you were interrogating him. And well, the third is now. Inquisition.”  
  
There was a moment of peace. Audrey jumped back as Cassandra slammed her hands down on the War Table and growled, “So you do know what happened! Why lie?”  
  
“I'd only woken! And if you think about it, it is the truth. I don’t remember what happened, how I got here, what actually happened in the Temple. All I know is a legend, for all I know everything's different. This isn’t that story, this is real life. A vi- a play can’t capture it. Even if they’re fucking long. And I was scared! I was in chains, you had a sword!”  
  
“She does have a point Cassandra, and no one was quite in the right state of mind that soon after the Breach,” Josephine soothed. Her pen poised in well manicured hands as she scribbled something down. Notes on what she was saying?  
  
‘That's actually a good idea,’ Audrey mused. The glint of a golden piercing through Josephine's bottom lip caught her eye. Thoughts of other places piercings could be were banished almost as soon as it occurred to her. Josephine only had a piercing through her bottom lip in concept art. They scrapped it the time they made her model. The implications were… interesting.  
  
“Anyway, what happened in the past doesn’t change too much about what we’re facing now… some little details? At least in the big stakes that we’re facing now with The Breach… who knows how important they’ll be in the future? Like, who was the Warden? What decisions did they make? And Hawke as well, hell-” she paused and continued, “void, to the void? even the Marquis of Serault has a little bit of significance in this. But what I know is a story. Who knows what will happen, like what Varric left out of his Tale of the Champion. But it can give me the proper grounding to know what happened here… in this world? And it’ll help make you guys believe me. I’m not crazy I promise, I’m in a crazy situation that I still feel like I’ll wake up from and- ”  
  
“It is alright Herald, we have the time to hear you out. Take a deep breath for me, will you? We are all friends here.” Josephine said, making her way around the table to stand beside Audrey. She gave a supportive smile and added, “It would be best to focus on what is to come, would it not? But a bit of proof would not be remiss.”  
  
“And you expect us to believe her?” Cassandra hummed, shifting her weight from one leg to the other.  
  
“She is the Herald, Cassandra, it is best to work with what we have.” Leliana replied, raising an eyebrow.  
  
Audrey almost balked, but she found her grounding as she replied, “Well, you don't have much of a choice now do you? As far as closing the rifts, the mark is the quickest and most efficient way to do so. If the only side effect I have from getting the mark is silly delusions of grandeur. Well that's actually pretty good, right? And it's not like I want you to follow my words like gospel, the Chant, sorry, I need you to listen to me. Hell, following what I know to the letter will be our downfall… me being the Ink-Herald changes so much. If I turn out to wrong, well, then that’s that. Not much we can do, eh?”  
  
Leliana hummed, “There are bits and pieces of your accent that I recognize when you speak the Trade Tongue. Could you try speaking Orlesian for me?”  
  
“Je pe parle en francais, c’est la nom de la langue dans mon…” She paused as she tried to think of the right word. Even living in Quebec, she’d been able to get away with not speaking the language for a very long time. “pays Canada, mais, je pense que le nom de la langue est Orlessianne? Orlessienne? Ici.”  
  
Both Josephine and Leliana exchanged a look. Audrey knew her French was bad, but that bad? Not to mention the fact she spoke Quebecois french to them. Which might be the equivalent of them hearing someone with a hick accent?  
  
Josephine hummed, “There are some oddities with her accent. I’m not sure if I could place it anywhere in particular. Herald, it is Orlesian, and also Orlesian in the Trade tongue.” Somehow, Audrey wasn’t surprised at Josephine’s ability to switch languages on the fly like that. It took a certain shifting of mental gears that could be tricky for some people, herself included. It was pretty much the same word, with a different twist on it. Different emphasis on different syllable. French, but not a Quebec accent. Fuuuuun.  
  
“That matters not, if she has some information worth knowing, she should share it with us now.” Cullen prompted, attempting to get them back on topic.  
  
Cassandra nodded in agreement, “Yes, it is best we get this over with. There are many preparations that still need to be made. Do not waste our time.”  
  
That did not help with the little butterflies at the pit of her stomach starting a prison riot. She almost wished she could ask for a chair. Talking on for long periods of time was a better experience when seated. Standing made it seem more like giving a presentation. Which, she supposed, it kind of was.  
  
“To assuage our concerns with your knowledge you can share something with is that you should not know. I can tell you of the Warden, Neria Surana, I did travel with her and the rest of the party through the Fifth Blight. I have been together with her for years after, but duty has called her away, as it has myself. She is a woman of a gentle, but honourable character.” Leliana said, looking at Audrey from under hooded eyelashes.  
  
“Uhhhh-” The group of eyes staring at her was a sudden heavy burden. Despite Audrey’s outlandish claims, none of them had yet to 'question' her.

Given the mix of people in the room, it was no real surprise what came out of her mouth next. “Well, when the Warden went to the Circle Tower she chose to save the mages. A demon of Sloth would have trapped her and her party in a dream world of his, it’s? Making. And uh, I don’t remember his name, but the guy with the Litany was trapped there long enough his physical body died. If you went along you were in a dream of what your life could have been had the Warden and Blight not occurred. If the Warden mentioned your vision you realized something was wrong and helped her fight the demon. You know, the one with the rosebud on a long dead bush? If not well, the Warden would still free you, without your help. Zevran was in a torture wrack with the a couple other crows looming above, Wynne was surrounded by dead apprentices, Alistair was in a happy home with his ‘sister’... Anyway.” She paused, unable to stop herself from looking at Cullen. “Before you enter the chamber that held Uldred and his hostages, Cullen here begged you to kill all of them. He was surrounded by some sort of barrier, and may have said something creepy about her? Not too sure. But he’s got a flame for her, whether or not she returned his feelings for her. Still does, he sends Leliana a creepy letter asking about her- oh shit. I mean, yeah.”  
  
“During my years at the Circle, I have seen many things. But this… what you know. What you shouldn’t know. This is not possible. Who did you hear this from?” Cullen growled, slamming down his armoured fists on the War Table. The slam was hard enough that Audrey could feel it reverberating from her side of the table. She took a step back.  
  
“Leliana, you must admit this is very questionable…” Cassandra let her voice drift off. She’d been too quiet, at least in Audrey’s opinion. “I, Commander, have told her nothing that you have not heard here. I have seen many strange and improbable events during my life Cullen. This, while high on the list, is hardly the most ‘impossible’. Cassandra, you have seen a great many improbable, if not impossible phenomena occur. What is this if not one more? I can confirm her words as the truth.” Cassandra nodded, satisfied with Leliana's clarification?  
  
“Well, to begin with, don’t interrupt me. And you have to promise not to leave. Knowing half of everything would be more dangerous than knowing everything I have to say. It would take too long, and given the fact that I am the… that I am the Herald. A whole fuck ton of shit is already out of order so who knows what will be different. But I do know of the greater dangers that we have to prepare for,” she took a moment to take a breath, “I know who did it. Who blew up the Conclave, and I know why.” She took a moment to make contact with everyone in the room.  
  
Cassandra made a noise like she wanted to interrupt, but a look from Leliana quieted her. Right. She wanted to keep their interest… but making it too much like a story might make their belief waiver.  
  
“The main villain, if you will, is an Ancient Tevinter Magister who goes by the name of Corypheus. He was a contemporary of the ‘talking darkspawn’ known as The Architect. I guess Corypheus would be ‘The Conductor’ since he was the priest of the Old God Dumat. He wanted to once again reach the Seat of The Maker. Yes that kind of Magister, and he chose Jus- Her Holiness as a sacrifice to do it. I’ll let you think on the symbolism of that act yourself. Varric… Varric should know more about him. Hawke beat him once. Corypheus’ intent is to conquer Thedas, in an attempt to shape it in his image. To become God, the Maker. To bring back what once was. ”  
  
Glimpses of the Red future went through her mind’s eye. Audrey had to push down a reflexive heave as the smell of the Temple came back to her. How would it be, to see it in real life? Cooked husks of people, not quite rotting due to the temperature, but there. There. That they walked past with nary a comment. People with lives, families, responsibilities. How would it be, to see Red Lyrium growing out? Red veins growing underneath supple flesh, taking and taking until nothing was left but that disgusting pulsing crystal. Humming. Hungering.  
  
Shuddering, Audrey continued, “He is the immediate threat. Corypheus has the Wardens under his thrall already. A fake Calling has them scared shitless of dying. He sent a Venatori, a member of a Tevinter cult, to them with answers. What they will resort to, to not die… They were there at the Temple with him. The Temple exploded but he- he found a way of ‘effective immortality’. He’s, in a sense, kind of like an Archdemon… he can possess Grey Wardens when he dies, and lives on through them. That’s why Varric thought Hawke killed him. His body did die, he then possessed whoever went with them… Larius or J-something? And escaped that way. Like an abomination. Hawke wouldn’t have noticed anything was wrong unless they were tipped off. And he has a blighted dragon, don’t ask me where he got it, that is the key to defeating him.”  
  
Corypheus… she would kill him. Tear him up with the Orb. Solas. And the Qunari. So much that was coming, that would come unless she fucked up and the Red Future became...  
  
“We will go to the Hinterlands, clean up shit there and pick up Mother Giselle, who will send for us, until we have enough of a reputation to go to Val Royeaux. There we meet up with Lord Seeker Lucius. The one we meet there an Envy demon is disguise by the way. We’ll then meet up with Fiona as we’re leaving, and then we’ll pick up Sera, The Red Jenny of Orlais, and Madame de Fer-”  
  
And so Audrey went on, summarizing the events of Inquisition. She went into the main strokes, things that were unlikely to change. As she was going along, something was tugging at the back of her mind. How to bring up Solas? Knowing about him wasn’t exactly necessary for surviving the events of Inquisition. If they could prepare for what would come before Trespasser, it could be a game changer. Even stemming the amount of the spies the Qun or Solas would implant in the Inquisition would make a difference. Not to mention the fact that all her Advisors would feel betrayed if she said nothing. And well, sharing this much, it made sense to share everything.  
  
“And of course a bunch of other stuff happens, but that’s the Golden Path, if you will, that leads to the end of the game- play. Sorry, I’m trying to phrase it in a way you’d understand. I come from a world much more technologically advanced than here. So advanced you could almost call it magic, but it's not. But I’m not trying to be a condescending asshole, you know?”  
  
“Different countries always have their varying ways, Herald. No need to hold yourself back on our accounts.” Josephine replied.  
  
“You said that this Corypheus and the Breach are the immediate dangers, who else threatens us?” Commander Cullen grumbled. Audrey was surprised he was the first person to pick up on the phrasing she’d used. Or the one bold enough to ask first. Cassandra still had a thoughtful look on her face. Audrey supposed she could be mulling over some of the Seeker’s secrets that she had shared. Not that learning about that shit changed her beliefs in the game. Cassandra would still be the Divine to return the Circles to the way they were. To the way that caused so much pain, that sparked the rebellion.  
  
“Ah, the real danger would be the man who caused all this in the first place… Fen’Harel. Not to say that Corypheus wouldn’t have tried causing trouble anyway. Fen'Harel’s agents were the ones who led the Magister to the orb in the first place. Foci, sorry. The ancient elvhen artifact that he, uh Corypheus, used to sunder the Veil. The Dread Wolf was planning on the act killing Corypheus, so that he could go retrieve his Foci. But he underestimated Corypheus, as the Magister survived the blast. He unlocked the key to ‘effective immortality’, and thus the clusterfuck we’ve ended up with. Not that it’d be any better had So- The Dread Wolf gotten his ball back. The Veil may or may not have been torn down completely by now. So, I guess, we were lucky.”  
  
“You would call the Divine’s murder ‘lucky’?” Cassandra growled in return.  
  
“No no- No! Just that we could have been much, much worse off than we are now.” Audrey squeaked.  
  
“And I’m assuming that our resident elven apostate, Solas, goes by the nom de guerre ‘Fen’Harel’?” Leliana hummed and turned around, her gloved hand going to her face. “I suppose his arrival seemed most fortuitous. He did have the skill to stop the mark from killing you. Yet, he claimed no mage could have caused the Breach, correct?”  
  
Leliana turned back, taking in Audrey.  
  
“That’s because I guess you could technically say he is no mage, at least the way you guys think about it. And while I guess Fen’Harel would be his nom de guerre… He’s not naming himself after the elven god. He is the Dread Wolf. Fallen from grace, yes. Trapping the Evanuri, uh, Creators, and the Forgotten ones and putting up the Veil took a lot out of him. Even after the millennia long nap he's had.”  
  
“You expect us to believe this?” Cassandra replied.  
  
“Everything else I’ve told you, and this is what you find hard to believe?”  
  
“Everyone knows that the Maker created the Veil-”  
  
“Who’s to say the Legend of Fen’Harel didn’t MORPH into the maker? Everything lines up, he abandoned the spirits after all, by making the veil. He sundered the world in two, trapping elves on both sides. Abandoned the people, his 'children', I guess you could say? So many people died. But it laid way for humans to come to the forefront. And that’s what he wants to do, restore the veil, restore Elvhenan, even if he must kill us 'mortals' to do it.” Audrey paused, “Believe me or not, Solas will be a threat, but he’s harmless for now. Without his foci, he isn’t exactly at the strength of a ‘god’ right now. And he’ll give us Skyhold, remember? WE need that at least. He is a valuable resource. We have to be careful not to let him in too close.”  
  
“Now Herald, given what has happened here I will give you he is a credible threat. Why then, knowing this, did you agree to study underneath him?” Cullen questioned Audrey.  
  
“He knows his shit, or he should. And as I said, he’s pretty harmless by himself until after we beat Corypheus… and as I said, his Ball will be broken too. And I can befriend him. If we change too much, too fast, everything I know will definitely be thrown out the door. We need to step carefully. Hell, who knows how much I’ve changed by telling you all this shit.”  
  
“You have done well to tell us Herald, I can assure you that we can put what you have given us to great use. Now, perhaps we should adjourn this meeting for now. I believe we all have much to think on before we move on.” Josephine replied.

“Remember, what we have discussed here is not to leave this room until our next course of action is decided.” Leliana added.

Cassandra nodded in agreement, and everyone was let loose.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the double post, I had to change something. Hopefully I'll be able to update a little more often. I'd like to thank Comavampure and LonelyAgain with their help with this chapter, and with the background information that won't be making an appearance anytime soon.


	3. Period Clothes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Audrey has to deal with some of the realities of her new body.

They had been dismissed, but no one had yet to actually leave. Josephine, lovely lady that she was, had offered a chair to everyone after the talk had lasted upwards of an hour. Audrey had taken it gratefully and had been sitting since. Not that she liked the kind of power dynamic it fostered, as Cassandra, Cullen and Leliana remained standing. But, to be honest, sitting down made talking to relative strangers that much easier. It was as if she was speaking up in class, or talking on Discord. Much less likely to stutter, or otherwise fuck up her words.

There were hushed murmurs as Cassandra and Cullen gestured heatedly at each other.

Audrey took a deep breath and pushed up her glasses with an index finger yet again. She sighed. Getting her glasses adjusted here would probably take a skilled hand they didn’t have yet. And if they broke… could she even get them replaced? 

A five second count and she released it again. Time to find food? Skipping breakfast and going into lunch territory had left her more than a little hungry. If the position of the sun implied anything when she’d headed here. At the thought of food her stomach grumbled.

But there was a more pressing matter.

“Uh, Leliana, did any- did anything else come through with me?” Audrey worried at her lip. Please say yes. Her bookbag at least, would get her through the week. Then she would have more than enough time to prepare for later. Because the feeling of daggers driving their way into her spine only meant one thing.

And the general slick feeling below, well. Audrey could only hope she hadn’t soaked through. They were used to blood stains, right? The chair her ass was currently resting in had finely carved wooden legs and a plush, colourful cushion. The cushion had a bunch of Chantry motifs on it, but it looked lovely all the same. This was not a sudden realization, but it was only now that the discussion had wound down that Audrey felt comfortable broaching the subject.

Leliana looked at her from under hooded eyes, “Yes, but they are being kept elsewhere. Is there anything in particular you need? I can send a scout to retrieve the item in question.”

“Um, well, I would much appreciate it if you could just have everything sent to my cabin.”

“We cannot let anything that might sensitive information unguarded.  As I am sure you understand.”

“Well then, could you bring my bag here? If I came with it, that is. It’s mostly a purple and grey plaid pattern on the outside, and the inside is lined with flowers. Well, if not, anything that has a bright orange wrapper… inside should be a white pad, sticky on the flaps and one side… kind of soft on the other?”

“What need do you have of it? You’ve been well tended to.” Cullen looked at her from his position on the other side of the table, an eyebrow raised.

Audrey crossed her arms and glared, sick of beating around the bush, “I am bleeding out of my vagina. As time passes, I risk leaving a stain on Lady Montilyet’s lovely chair. And I’m not in the mood to deal whatever you have here to ‘tend to’ it.”

Cullen coughed into his hand, red blooming onto his cheeks. Silence and averted eyes were his answer. Good. She was not sure she was in the mood to put up with his shit.

“Oh my. Leliana, surely we could return some of Lady Dogwood’s possessions to her? You can attest to the fact that there were some items that we cannot justify holding onto now that she has agreed to work with us.” Josephine had a lovely blush darkening her cheeks. 

Leliana smirked, and strode to the door. “I’ll send for it, and some clean clothes. I also imagine you would like to clean up? It should not take too long to retrieve the items you need and have them sent to your cabin.” 

“That would be amazing, thank you. And I’m pretty hungry, would it be possible to have someone take me to wherever it is you serve food? And, I don’t have any money- coin to buy food with.”

“Not a problem, Herald. Cassandra will escort you back to your cabin, and then the tavern. You’ll have to make due with what food we have now, no special orders. And no need to worry, we will feed you, free of charge. You are one of us now, after all. I am confident we can fit feeding you into our budget.” Josephine perked up, noting something down on her board.

“While I’d prefer not to go around with an escort, I understand your reasons for doing it… And uh, I noticed some Templars following me on my way here. Can you make sure anyone who’s assigned to guard me are women? I don’t think I’m entirely comfortable being followed around by strange men. And uh, I don’t have to share my cabin, right? I only saw one bed.” If this was anything like the game, more than one person would have tried to kill her while she was sleeping. So, even if they were templars, loyal guards did a lot to make her feel safer.

Cassandra nodded,“It will be so, Herald. And so long as you take to your lessons well, escorting you not be necessary for much longer. Do not worry, they will not follow you into your quarters. I have my own private room. You will have some privacy. And it is convenient, as I am the best fit to ensure your safety until you are better able to defend yourself.” 

“I will ensure that the Templars that guard you are all women, Herald. We have more than enough to make due. I will take my leave, I have some matters to attend to.” He nodded and made his way out of the room.  

And so she was left with Josephine and Cassandra. Josephine had spread out her notes on the war table and was going over them. Cassandra had joined her, sensing Audrey was not up for talking any longer. Audrey chewed her lips. She felt like she was back in school, having to ask permission for everything again.

But, she’d have a few minutes at least to feel herself up a bit, before Leliana came back. She started by cupping the lower have of her face in her hands. Nothing felt too different, other than the slight points of her teeth. She’d damn near bitten through her tongue on the way to the Breach, but a health potion had healed that quickly.

That was something that was odd- how she’d not had much of a problem adjusting. Her body felt normal. Moving was normal. Hell, even biting her tongue wasn’t out of the realm of normal considering how nervous she’d been, and how fast she’d been talking. But that didn’t make any sense, considering the fact that she’d probably put on at least a foot worth of height. Plus however bigger everything else had to be to still be in proportion.

That had been another reason to sit down. Everyone, even Cullen, was shorter than her. She had been pretty tall for a women, true, but nowhere near this tall. And that was more than enough weird than she was willing to deal with right now. It was kind of  a worry then, the fact that she was able to go everything so well. Did this body have muscle memory? Was this her body transformed? Or was she.. Was she...

She’d only been able to get a glimpse of herself in the ice. Without her glasses. Not enough to really be able to tell anything, other than the fact that her hair was still brown. The fact that her skin was a light grey had been accomplished while still in chains, her poor little hands too fucking cold out in winter with no gloves on. Even the Inuyasha like, but black, claws had not impeded anything she had tried to do. And given the fact that she was a lifelong anxious nail biter, having nails that long was more than a little odd.

A brief anxiety about how painful those claws could potentially be in certain _places_ , came to mind but was quickly squashed. She didn’t have time for period induced horniness.

Sighing, she took a moment to slide her hands over her ears. While longer than usual, and pointed, they were no more sensitive than what she had been used to. Which was a good thing, despite what the elf porn might tell you. Dealing with a new sensitive erogenous zone would not have been fun. Well, at least not around strangers.

She gulped. She rested her hands against her forehead. She could feel the ridges of skin her horns emerged from. With all that extra weight on her head, she should have screwed up somehow. But it felt normal. And the fact that it felt normal, it felt natural, was what was weirding her out. Because that implied that someone, or something had messed with her head, right?

Giving into temptation, she just ran her hands down her horns, feeling how they emerged from her skull straight back, and then curved upwards. She tapped her claws on her horns, testing how hard it was. Jokes of horns you could use as handlebars had come back to haunt her-

“Are you alright. Herald?” Josephine’s voice was beside her ear- when had she moved?- and a hand weighed heavily on her shoulder.

Audrey gripped her horns even harder, the rough texture biting into her palms “No, no I’m not okay. I’m away from home, you’re all fucking medieval and… and I- this isn’t my body. I’m human- I was human. I didn’t mention it earlier cause Cullen was in the room, and if he’d reacted badly to the other things I’d said… I can’t imagine how’d they react to this. But I remember being human, being shorter. This should feel wrong. I should feel wrong. But I don’t. And that scares me.”

Josephine’s grip tightened on her shoulder, “We’ll figure this all out together, yes? When we have the resources, surely there must be some record of this happening prior to your arrival. We will look into what has happened to you. So for now, I ask you to trust us. Soon you will have a warm meal waiting for you. For the rest of the day, relax. Gather your thoughts together. We can reconvene tomorrow, I will talk to the others.”

Josephine eased Audrey's hands off of her horns, letting them go after Audrey released her grip.

“I have no problem delaying our next meeting until tomorrow. You have given us much to think of, Herald. I am sure Josephine can make sure we are better prepared tomorrow.”

“I-I don’t even know if my face is the same.”

“Well, Herald, give me a moment. I’ll be right back. I have a hand mirror nearby.” Josephine put her board down on the table beside Audrey.

“Thanks, and _please_ , call me Audrey.”

Josephine too left Audrey alone. Only Cassandra remained.

“You were once human?” Cassandra asked.

“Yeah… whatever brought me through _changed_ me.”

Cassandra made a face, much like she had during the meeting. Some mix between sympathetic and disbelieving. Sympathy seemed to be winning.

“I know this has been quite the ordeal for you. I appreciate that you are trying your best to cooperate with and help us. Perhaps locating what magic brought you here will provide an answer.”

Audrey forced a smile onto her face and nodded.

The door creaked as it opened.

“Here we go.” Josie placed an ornate golden hand mirror on the War Table in front of Audrey. Audrey froze, at first at the fancy appearance of the mirror, but then because she was able to look at her face.

Her own face stared back at her. The shape of her eyes were the same. As were her lips and nose. There was, however, a glaring difference. The whites of her eyes were not white, but black, making her brown eyes seem almost gold in comparison. She pulled back her lips in a grimace to look at her teeth. They were never a perfect white, being an avid tea drinker had ensured that. That too, had stayed the same. They did look pointier. She stuck out her tongue.

And shuddered. She could stick her tongue out significantly further. A quick poke revealed that the flap of skin on her tongue did not reach quite as high. She winced as her claws nicked her tongue. She tasted the coppery tang of blood. It brought back memories of going to the Temple. She'd bitten through her tongue then. Her tongue had barely been able to go below her lips, but now, now it easily went down to her chin. Was it a Qunari thing? Was it chance, or her preference?

If that was different then what else was?

Audrey wasn’t sure what would be worse.

Leliana cleared her throat, “I’ve have sent for what you have requested be sent to your cabin, Herald.”

“Audrey please. I’d rather be on a first name basis with you all.” Audrey smiled and put the mirror down. “Uh, can you take me to my cabin now? I really want to clean up.”

“No need to worry, Herald.  We will head there now.” Cassandra made her way to the door.

“Her cabin is beside your own, if you have need of anything she should always be within shouting distance.” Josephine readjusted some of her own hair behind her ear.

“When… when will we be heading out?”

“Not for a few weeks, we need time to settle, to appraise what resources we have. It will give you some time to get a handle on your abilities.”

“Uh- don’t people spend a lifetime mastering their magic? A few weeks- it’s not that long in the grand scheme of things.”

Leliana smirked, “Not with that kind of attitude, but we don’t need you to be a master. Just basic control should do for now. We don’t want any accidents, do we? Solas will be able to teach you more out in the field. We will need to find you a proper teacher, someone who can impart the proper amount of discipline and respect into you.” 

Right. Performing magic is mostly mental. Mind over matter, and all that shit. Solas’ little speech echoed in Audrey’s mind. He’d tried to coach her through the basics on the way to the Temple. They couldn’t afford a dead weight, even a dead weight with the key to ending everything on her hands.

His assumption that she had gained magic from the anchor wasn’t something she fought against. Letting him come to his own conclusions might be safest, as they’d align with his point of view. Elvhen superiority and all. Not that he couldn’t be right, but seeing as she had ended up in Thedas before everything went down, Audrey assumed some of it was her own. Not that she remembered how she’d ended up here. The Nightmare had those memories. Along with who knew what else. If Corypheus had access to anything she knew… it would not end well.

Right, not time to think about that. He’d need time to recover as well. They had time. He was no god.

Standing up, a quick glance revealed that she hadn’t bled through her pants onto Josephine’s nice chair. Small mercies, but the dampness at her crotch made her more than a little uncomfortable.

“We’ll let you get on with your day, Herald. Cassandra will come for you tomorrow when it is time to reconvene.” Josephine curtsied and left, Leliana close behind.

Audrey felt a coil of anxiety settle down in her stomach, but she didn’t let that stop her as she went to leave the room with Cassandra. A templar without her helmet was there, standing at attention and waiting. She had black hair, pale skin, and dark brown eyes. The wrinkles on her face reflected a life full of stress, but there were some laugh lines.

“Ser Agatha.” Cassandra greeted. Audrey thought she could remember a female templar with that name from Kirkwall. Distinct enough to remain in her memories as one of the few female templars in canon. Bioware claimed that Thedas didn’t have much sexism in it… but, the proof was in the pudding. Or, the characters that actually made their way into the game at any rate. And Inquisition, despite being the most recent one, was actually one of the worst offenders as far as the gender ratio went.

“Lady Cassandra.” Agatha returned the greeting, “My Herald. It is a pleasure to meet you. I have volunteered to be part of your guard while you are here in Haven.”

“It is nice to meet you too. I’m Audrey Dogwood.” Audrey resisted the urge to reach out and shake Agatha’s hand. They didn’t do that here. At least not for greetings. They exchanged polite nods, and then made their way to exit the Chantry. The familiar sight of Leliana’s tent outside was comforting, even if she’d had yet to see other distinctive landmarks. Other than mabari statues, that is. Back through the streets, she was glad to have the escort. While Haven may have been small during the time Origins was set, it was obvious that it had developed into a larger settlement.

The term “Tourist Trap” came to mind, being the closest locale to the Temple must have led to an economic boom. Despite this, everything was in obvious disarray. Roofs were collapsed, and huge chunks of debris were spread around. And while there were workers milling around from place to place, and some construction was going on, they did not pass by families living their day to day lives. All Audrey could think of was of the explosion at the Conclave. It had caused so much damage… and then they were back at the cabin. She tried not to look at the bodies bound in bags. With winter being in full force, they’d not had to rush disposing of all the corpses.

With a respectful “Herald” from Agatha and Cassandra, Audrey went inside and closed the door behind her. They wouldn’t be far, but at least she had some semblance of privacy. It was apparent that the room was much darker, the curtains were drawn closed, but a torch and the fire provided enough light to see by.

A orange wrapped pad was placed on the desk beside her bed. As well as a folded pair of tan pants, a soft cloth… and one of her panties. Not one of her fancy ones, just plain cotton. Black, with a little bow on the front band. Steam rose from the ground. A bucket with freshly heated water on the ground was in front of the desk.  Just what had come through with her? A glance at her bed revealed her bag, as well as some other objects, having been put on it.

Audrey sighed. She’d need to sort through it all. But not now.

Stripping out of her pants, the blood was undeniable. It was warmly clinging to the inside of her thighs, and she cringed. But hesitated before going to clean it right away. She had one cloth, and one bucket. If she dirtied it with blood before anything else… she couldn’t exactly wash the rest of herself with bloodied water.

She shed the rest of her clothing, and decided to wipe down what she could. She dipped the cloth into the steaming water, and squeezed it to get rid of the excess. She started by washing her face. Next was her chest, and wasn’t that a surprise, her nipples were still pierced. Familiar stainless steel bar went through either nipple. The left one, as always, was a little crooked. One hole slightly higher up than the other. Such a small detail… but one that she knew. She didn’t think Thedas had quite that style of piercing. She could be wrong, of course, but it had always seemed more modern to her. Examining it revealed that no gunk had built up since the last time it had been cleaned. One more tick in this somehow having been her own body. In some flexible definition of the term “her own body”.

Her body was the wrong colour. Pale grey, similar in shade to how she had been, but the wrong colour. Her nipples didn’t seem too different in contrast, but were also grey. Shaking off her feelings of discomfort, Audrey continued to wash herself.

Under the arms, stubble was already starting to grow. Her stomach was not quite so large, but that could be attributed to gaining so much height. Her arms too, there was still a layer of fat but she could feel more defined muscles underneath. No wonder she had been able to keep up with everyone on the way to the temple. Even if she had been a little out of breath at times. She was still fat, but it was backed by hard muscle.

Her butt, however, didn’t feel bigger. At least to her own hands, cupping her ass cheeks. A quick squeeze revealed that it did feel a little firmer. She didn’t feel different, but maybe that was because the size ratio of her body parts in comparison to each other stayed the same? Curiosity sated, and deciding the rest of her body was as clean as it was going to get, she started on the bloody mess waiting for her.

Making quick work of it, she inspected the clothes that were laid out for her on the desk. She put on her panties, pad securely in place. It was the Apprentice Coat. The Tier 1 armour all mage inquisitors started the game with. She froze. Did game mechanics apply here? Would she get stronger wearing higher tier armour? It made sense, in a game, but in practice?

It’s not like she felt like she’d leveled up on the way to the Temple. Sure, she’d gotten some control after some coaching from Solas, but that didn’t feel forced in such a way unlocking a spell with an ability point would feel like. Assuming game mechanics were in place could be a deadly mistake. Although, with magic involved, and using higher quality materials, the armour made later on just being plain better at protecting her did make sense.

And better made staffs would channel magic better. Probably? Hell if she knew. But, with her thoughts turning back to the game, the little chest sitting on the floor caught her eye. Would she have the Dragon Armour waiting in there for her? It wasn’t the best, but it was certainly more protective than her beige pyjamas and a leather jacket.

She kind of wanted to check out what had been returned to her that had been placed on her bed, but getting dressed was more important. She kneeled down in front of the chest and opened it up with a quick flip of her wrist. She sputtered, losing balance and fell back onto her ass. She burst out laughing.

Inside was a very familiar set of sex toys. It wasn’t the biggest collection, it was able to fit in the chest after all, but it was there all the same. The bright rainbow dildo stood at attention, at the top of the pile. Hard to mistake this collection for anything else, that one in particular as its moulding was rather realistic. She wondered if they’d had quite so realistic toys in medieval times. She imagined the face of the person who found it, and just started laughing even harder.

Her bottle of lube was there too. It was not quite so obviously sexual, at least to someone who couldn’t read it. It was curious, her sex toy collection had been in a drawer in her bedroom, lube included… so, had the whole thing come through? So they’d know to put it all in there. She pulled out a rechargeable vibrator, and turned it on. The familiar hum filled the room. She turned it off and put it back in. So, whatever process had brought them here hadn’t ruined electronics. If a rechargeable vibrator could even be called that. But, it bode well if any other electronics had come through with her. Oh, she could already feel the internet withdrawal kicking in.

Her furniture didn’t seem to have come through with her… but, that could just be that she’d already had a furnished room and thus didn’t need anything new. Maybe. She closed the chest and returned to the desk. She dressed in what she was given.

She thought about looking at what was one her bed, she could at least make out her book bag. However, as her stomach grumbled, hunger won out. She could come back later to investigate. Food would come first. Hopefully they hadn’t gone far from her door.

Striding outside, Agatha was standing guard in front of her cabin. She hadn’t wandered far at all then. Another female Templar had joined her, Cassandra was talking with her. They looked very serious, and alert. Audrey felt her face grow hot with a blush. Had they heard her laugh?

Not really up to meeting another new person, Audrey wanted to sigh “Uh, hi. Nice to meet you..?”

“Lysette. You’re the one they’re calling the Herald?” Not the nicest tone around.

“Lysette.” Cassandra growled before Audrey could reply.  

“It’s ok, I don’t mind Cassandra. She’s here to help you guard me right? She has the right to express her opinion around me. I’m no despot. More of a figurehead, I’ve gathered. Yes, I am the one they’re calling the Herald…” Audrey hesitated, should she try to follow the script? “And I’m sorry to have upset you.”

“I’m not happy about it, to be true. But, no need to apologize. You are a mage, and magic was meant to serve man, not rule over him. Yet, here you are, testing the core tenet of the Chantry. I did not join the Order to adjust my faith so easily, but I appreciate what the Inquisition is trying to do and your role in it. Though you may find not many Templars do. We’re a distrustful lot.”

“There is no need to worry Herald, any Templar who has been chosen to help protect you knows their place with the Inquisition. As Lysette should well know.” Agatha sent a stern glance towards Lysette

“Well, I hope I can do my part to show the Templars that mages aren’t just their magic. That sounds like a kinda open ended interpretation of scripture. If I make sure to keep a level head despite my magic, is it not serving me? And, you know what, I’m hungry, and kind of tired, so I just want to head to the tavern. Can you lead me there, Cassandra? I don’t think I should have that type of conversation on an empty stomach. I hope we get to talk again, Lysette.”

Cassandra nodded, gave Lysette a look, and led Audrey away. Audrey didn’t look at Lysette as she left.

Cassandra did make a sound, as if she wanted to start talking, but then thought better of it.  It wasn’t that Haven was huge, it wasn’t, but it was maybe three times the size of the village in canon. Haven in game had been just the Chantry with maybe ten cabins scattered within its wall. Game mechanics, and having to fit it on old generation consoles, had probably kept Haven that small in game. That was not the case here.

It looked like an actual village, with houses made to house families and local businesses. They were a little sad looking, having been impacted by the explosion at the Conclave, but a village all the same. And, the normal villagers had been here, towards the wall. She could hear more people milling about doing things. But, living in the city, she’d have been used to so much more people noise… so maybe that was why she had missed people elsewhere?

She heard the squeal of children, as her gaze was drawn toward a bunch of tents. She could see adults, mostly women, moving about between the tents. There were, at least from what she could see, people working on laundry. A woman with pointed ears, a baby swaddled against her back, appeared to be sorting through some armour. And- she was cut off from her observations as they went away from the refugee camp. She really should be paying attention to landmarks as they made their way to the tavern. Audrey wanted to be able to find her own way in Haven.

The sounds of a lute playing and a voice lilting along became apparent. She didn’t chat with Cassandra, hadn’t even tried. She didn’t really feel like talking while hungry, and anything she could say was probably better said behind closed doors. So, she was a little surprised when Cassandra opened the door to the tavern for her, and held it open while she made her way in. Audrey thanked the Seeker. There were only one or two curious glances sent their way as they entered.

There were the tables, with a wide variety of people. Humans, dwarves, elves. No other qunari, however. She had no idea where she’d sit down to eat. She knew no one. Other than her limited interactions with the Advisors, and the companions. Cassandra was still with her. Was she expected to sit down and eat with her?

She felt a pang in her stomach. Not one of hunger. No more weekly lunches with her best friend Veronica. While she’d been super straight, Veronica had meant well and had always been super supportive. They’d had their weekly bitch session for years now. A friendship sparked by suffering in a shared 200 level course. She could feel tears prickling at the corner of her eyes.

“Are you alright, Audrey?”

“No, but I will be. I’m just thinking of one of my friends. I’m going to miss her. How is the food here?”

“The fare here is pretty decent. Flissa is doing the best she can given the stock we have on hand. I will also advise you- do not eat anything unless you get it directly from Flissa or from one of us.”

“Um, alright then. Thanks.”

“Hello there Herald! Mind coming over here?” A familiar, amicable voice called out. Audrey smiled.

“Hey, Varric, I’ll be right here,” Audrey paused, “and uh, thanks for leading me here Cassandra.”

“It was no problem, Herald. I’ll leave you to Varric for now, I could do with a meal myself.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! I was overwhelmed by school and such, thus the late chapter. Also, I kind of hit a snag where I want to change the romance, but I felt bad because people seem to be excited about it being with Sera. Rest assured this is still femmeslash! Just with someone else. I'm not going to mention who I have in mind though, just in case it changes due to their chemistry when they meet. (For all I know, she and Sera would have a lot of chemistry when they meet, so there's still some hope.)
> 
> I'd like to thank Comavampure and LonelyAgain for encouraging me when things got tough! And helping iron things out plot wise.


	4. Kaleidoscopic Vision

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Audrey decides to take some initiative.

Audrey made her way over to Varric, “I’d love to sit down and chat, honestly, but I’m starving. I’ll be right back once I get something to eat. And uh, do you mind if I come back here to eat with you?”

Audrey took a second to look him over. The table Varric was sitting at was decently long, probably long enough to seat three on either side. He sat at the head of the table. It struck her as odd that he seemed almost taller sitting down than he did when he’d stood next to her before. The furniture in the tavern was obviously made with humans in mind. Varric was also alone, she’d almost have expected him to be here with a bunch of hangers on. 

He had a pile of parchment in front of him. A quill and ink pot were on the side of the table. On the parchment were lines of incomprehensible symbols, but it was in the familiar format of a letter. The realization that she was effectively illiterate started to burn in Audrey’s gut. She’d always been proud of her nerdy nature, and she would have no way to express it here. She couldn’t read their literature. They would not have time to teach her properly, at least not now. Whatever training regime she’d have probably wouldn’t have room for reading. At least, not now that she couldn’t read theory books.

It hadn’t sunk in when they’d pointed out they couldn’t read English. That the lack of comprehension would go both ways. She couldn’t read their writing, for all it felt like they were talking English. Why one and not the other, she couldn’t help but wonder. What was the difference? 

Would they give her an assistant, a secretary? A person to read and write for her, now that she was unable to. Incapable. All the knowledge that was now beyond her grasp. No more late night reading before bed. No more learning by herself. She could write, but no one but herself would understand a word of it.

It was kind of funny, how much of her self worth was tied up with how much of a fucking nerd she was. There would be, however, no way to express that anymore. She was dumb. Or, at the very least, would appear that way to others. It was such a stupid fucking thing to get emotional over, given the circumstances, but Audrey could feel that it was the final straw. 

Then there was a release of pressure- but not in any way she could describe.

She felt the tingle of magic along her body, a sudden awareness filling her of the flow of arcane energy in the world around her. Varric was rooted to the ground like a tree. A faded, but familiar lyrium blue lit up along veins rising from the ground, barely touching the soles of his feet. Audrey could see it winding deep underground, growing brighter the further she ‘looked’. It was huge, other branches connecting to other dwarves. Varric was red- humour, passion, stubbornness, reluctant stagnation-  The flow of blue stopped the red from circulating outside of Varric, but the return pressure led to an equilibrium. There was no mixing.

The world itself was also lit up- which would make sense, given the fact that there was a huge tear in the Fade nearby. Similar systems existed in others, but for the non-dwarves the branches faded into.... Something. Trying to see it hurt her head. A headache had started to blossom anyway, as she could feel something in herself pulling. Pulses of light coming to her, winding their way down her own rose and teal tendrils but from where? No one was moving. Silence. 

And then she looked at Varric again. The written runes on his letter snapped into place and made sense. Not as if it had suddenly become English… but she could make sense of them. She could make out Merrill’s name, and quickly looked away. Looking at personal letters was rude. Her heart skipped a beat. 

She could see that Varric was more than just that popping carmine. More shades of reds, browns and purples than she even had words for. There was a thread of sickly yellow, fear, fear of change, of things getting better, of things getting worse, of moving on- and she had to stop herself there or she’d get stuck.

If this was a result of her own actions… then she could get herself out of it. She forced herself to take deeper breaths, calm down. She wanted things to be normal. Normal.

Her heart skipped a couple beats as everyone else started breathing again. The awareness she had faded, but she could still make it out. It was if she’d just noticed something looming in her peripheral, and now that she had acknowledged it was there, it was hovering. It was, in a word, terrifying. Mesmerizing.

It could wait.

“Sure, I’ll make sure to save you a seat. I’m awfully popular today... I’ll be talking to you soon then Herald.” He smiled, winked, and waved her away with his tankard.

She forced a smile, nodded, and made her way over to the counter. Hopefully he’d not noticed. With her luck...

“Hi, I’m Flissa. And you’re the Herald right?”

“Yeah. Did the horns give it away?”

“Oh no, well yes, but it’s not like it matters right? We are all the Maker’s creations. You being the Herald just proves it. So what if some of us are larger… and, uh, greyer than the others? So, if what I’ve heard is right, you’re here to break your fast?”

“Yep, I’m starving honestly.”

She smiled, “Here you go! Sorry we don’t have anything fancier right now, but we make due.”

Flissa turned around and grabbed a tray that was on the counter behind her. On it was a mug of ale, a large wooden spoon, a bowl of mystery meat and veggie stew, a hunk of bread and cheese. There were other similarly prepared meals. Not nearly enough to feed all of the soldiers Audrey had seen before, let alone all the refugees that must be in Haven. She’d must have gotten word that Audrey was heading there for a meal. 

Audrey wasn’t a refugee, or a common soldier. She was the Herald. She could live with this little luxury. No weak soup and long lines for her. If that was what the others had to deal with right now. She remembered hunting nugs and druffalo while trying to earn enough leathers to make the higher tier items she’d unlocked with the Golden Nug. So, perhaps there was enough food to support Haven while they worked on making connections with merchants. There’d been no complaints of supply shortages in game that she could remember. Varric was a merchant prince. More than enough money to throw around. Maybe he’d stepped in so no one went hungry?

At the very least, she would not be going hungry while she was in Haven. She was the Herald. The ticket to saving the world. The least they could do was feed her, surely.

“Thanks” Audrey took the tray from Flissa and made her way over to Varric. She sat down to his left. “So, what was it that you wanted to talk about?”

“How are you holding up?”

Audrey froze, “Uh, as well as one can hope, I guess?”

He gestured at her to continue, “That is not what I meant and you know it.”

Now, Audrey wondered, was he talking about when they had actually first met, or just moments before, after she’d seen that freaky shit?

“Well, this is all kinda new. Not everyday the sky blows up, and you’re dragged around, trying to fix it. I guess I’m kinda-” Can’t used the word shell shocked, would they even have it here? “-still processing everything. It’s not like they had me on the frontline.”

Varric smirked, “Well, you better get your story straight if you don’t want Leliana digging too deep, that’s for sure.”

“Wait, what do you mean?” She sputtered.

“If you’re actually a mercenary I’ll eat my jacket.”

She hummed. The cat was already out of the bag with the advisors- the next step would be to let other people in the “inner circle” know. If they wanted the knowledge to be spread out, that is. With the Nightmare potentially telling Corypheus what it knew… what she knew, however small, having more minds thinking about solutions could only help. 

And… he had contact with Bianca.

Bianca.

Who had accidentally provided easy access to Red Lyrium to Corypheus’ forces. If they cut that off before Audrey made her choice of mages and templars… They could cut Corypheus off at the knees! Bianca wouldn’t realise she’d been duped until much later on, when Varric finally made the effort to write to her about what had happened. That the Grey Warden she’d decided to trust was not what they’d seemed to be.

A lot of people liked to hate on Bianca, but Audrey felt that a lot of that was undeserved. They seemed to assume that Bianca had been stringing poor little Varric along by the heartstrings for years. They were offended by the fact that she told the Inquisitor to take care of Varric properly. As if the two weren’t friends who had known each other for over fifteen years. As if he hadn’t even written her in years, to the point Bianca didn’t even know if he was alive or dead. Kind of hard to string someone along when you haven’t had any sort of contact in the past five years. 

Audrey decided to stick a pin in it for now, “Well, you got me. The truth is a little stranger than fiction though, that’s why I… misled you. We’re gonna have another meeting tomorrow. I think it would be a good idea to get you up to speed. Actually, go to Leliana and ask her to tell you the truth. She can explain it better. Just, don’t go blurting it out. At least not until this thing all blows over. It would not end well.”

It was a risk to say it that plainly.. But it's not like anyone would suspect what she really meant. In what world would “she has knowledge of the future” be anyone’s first guess?

“So Leliana does know? And the other heads of the Inquisition too, I’m guessing.” He steepled his hands together, “That sounds like an interesting story. I’ll go see the Nightingale later. For now, I’ll keep you company.”

“Thanks… I’m serious about not telling anyone else though, at least until we get a handle on things.”

“Alright, I promise… but it does make me even more curious about what you’re hiding.”

“Oh, believe me, I understand. Just, not now. You’ll get caught up.” She took and spoonful of stew and blew on it. She took a hesitant bite before spooning the rest into her mouth. It was a hearty stew, the meat was not quite as dry as her father’s attempts. The meat didn’t taste quite right, and at least one of the vegetables she couldn’t recognise.

Luckily, she’d gotten over being a picky eater as a teenager and thus was more than able to start chowing down. She was thirsty… but a quick sniff revealed that yes, the provided drink was alcoholic. She could remember something about how how they drank weak drinks to get hydrated, as straight water had a tendency to be contaminated in some way. Trouble was, Audrey wasn’t much of a drinker. She’d gotten pretty tipsy after drinking only three seven percent Sangria bottles. She must have made some sort of expression though, as Varric had started to laugh.

“What? I’m hungry. Surprisingly, clandestine meetings about saving the world don’t come with hors d'oeuvres.”

“It’s not that Herald. Have you not had a drink before? You look like you think it will bite you.”

Audrey grumbled, “I’m used to plain old water where I’m from. I don’t have much of a tolerance for alcohol, even in small quantities.”

“Really now?”

“Yeah, clean water is in abundance where I’m from. No need to worry about getting sick drinking it. I get why we’d not have clean water here, Haven is recovering from the Conclave explosion… but that doesn’t change my alcohol tolerance, or the lack thereof. But I don’t really want to bother anyone.”

“Hmm, while normally the bar here does have water, there’s plenty of snow after all, I’m not sure if anyone would have bothered to gather some. With the reconstruction efforts still going on. I wouldn’t trust what water they would have.”

Audrey pursed her lips and ripped a chunk of her bread off with her teeth. At the very least that was easier now. The taste of freshly baked bread was wonderful. 

“The ale here isn’t too strong. You should be fine, as long as you don’t overindulge. I’ll keep an eye on you,” he chuckled. For one reason or another, Audrey was just filled with doubt. Not that he’d do anything predatory, that would be just fucking stupid. Even if this was a grim dark universe where Varric was a rapist and everything was evil. She’d not gotten that vibe from her interactions here. Maybe it was a little darker than the game, but this was real life. He probably just wanted to make her chatty. Which would be risky, depending on who was listening in.

_ ‘Perhaps now would be the time to find up what Hawke has been up to…’ _ Audrey took a hesitant sip from her flaggen, preemptively trying to suppress her urge to make a face. Not that long ago her roommate had compared it to a dog that had gotten into the peanut butter. It had the sting of alcohol, but it was weaker than what she’d had in the past. So, she could deal with it. She just had to be careful.

“So, you know Hawke right? Think you can give me the down low on how they all are?”

“Down low?”

“Um, how they all are now… I’ve uh, heard stories, but it’s better to hear it directly from the source, I think.”

“Well then…” And so Varric began to go on his spiel from the game almost verbatim. It sounded kind of rehearsed, so Audrey wasn’t sure how reliable it was. But, what she got from it was everyone was alive, even Anders. Hawke was not a mage, as Bethany was alive.

“So… I have to admit I’m curious- did Hawke have a romantic relationship with any of her companions?”

Varric laughed, “The better question would be who didn’t she have a relationship with? We all lived in Kirkwall for years… and things can happen between friends.”

Audrey snorted, “I suppose… and you’re being evasive again so I don’t suppose I’ll get a straight answer.” She almost laughed at her own unintentional pun, but as they didn’t use the same terminology in Thedas, its not like it would make sense to Varric even if she explained it. That was a point, did them even have any sort of terminology in Thedas? Or was it all communicated in euphemisms? 

“Pot meets kettle, I think, Herald.”

Or maybe he was being a shit and evasive because she was too.

“Call me Audrey. Being called Herald makes me… uncomfortable. Too much of a reminder I’ve accidentally joined a cult.” She took another sip and winced.

“Accidentally joined a cult? I suppose you could call it that. The Chantry has rejected us, you know,” he snorted, “Yeah, cult works. If only Bartrand could see me now.”

“Your older brother right?” Audrey could get on the bitching about older siblings train… which would be awkward, considering Bartrand was either in a Sanatorium or dead. They were able to talk about nothing of substance for a while, filling the time it took her to finish her food. They said goodbye, Varric packing up and leaving while Audrey made her way to Cassandra. Hopefully he was making his way towards Leliana. 

“Hey Cassandra. I’ve finished my food- where to now?”

“You need some training before you go to sleep this evening, it would not be wise to leave you vulnerable to possession if we can avoid it.”

“Oh,” Audrey gulped, “I suppose that’s true. Are we going to find Solas?”

Cassandra looked as if she had eaten something rotten, “That was the decision, was it not? There are other mages here, however, if you have changed your mind.”

“No- he is the best we have. And I’m guessing all the other mages are busy with their other duties.”

“You are quite confident in his abilities… but I find those that are talented are not always quite suited to teaching others their trade. You are new to this, and he is, as you say, a ‘fade expert’. No one would find fault with you if you went to someone else.”

Under other circumstances she might have given in. But she needed to build up a rapport of sorts with Solas… and she needed to know how to use her power asap. He might know some workarounds that could get her battle ready faster. Or, at the very least, give her insights on how to defend herself in the fade. She couldn’t really remember how everything had gone in the Fade while she’d been unconscious. Probably because of the Nightmare.

“I think I can handle him, at least for and evening. We just want me safe tonight right? If there’s anyone who’d know how to stay safe while sleeping, it would be Solas. If he’s not a good fit, then we can find someone else.”

“Very well Herald, I will bring you to Solas. I will leave you under his protection. I will return to retrieve you when the sun begins to set.”

Cassandra began to take her leave of the building, and Audrey followed closely behind her. It took a long moment before she came to a realization.

“Wait, has he even agreed to teach me?”

“There were… talks while you were unconscious. Solas put himself forward as a worthy tutor. He does not approve of the way we teach our mages.”

Audrey snorted, “Of course he wouldn’t. I’m letting you know, I told Varric about the meeting. He should be included. I sent him to Leliana to learn more.”

“You what?” Cassandra exhaled sharply through her nose, “Are you sure it is wise, Herald? Varric?” 

“It’s better if he knows, than if he doesn’t,” Audrey sighed, “he has access to resources we could use. Besides, he’s a nosy parker and I would have slipped up. Will slip up. Uh, remind me to ask about Bianca tomorrow, please. I’m pretty forgetful.”

“I will go to Leliana myself  to let her know… and perhaps we need to get you a notebook? I do not mind helping you this once, but you must be independent in the future.” Cassandra pursed her lips, “Are you certain that-”

“I can handle myself. Varric just- He’s trustworthy. He stays loyal.”

Cassandra sighed, “If you are certain, Herald. Just, watch your tongue around Solas. He is to teach you how to control your magic. Nothing more.”

The continued walking in silence. Neither of them had quite the talent to carry a conversation with a relative stranger like Varric did. And really, now that the important stuff was out of the way, what was there to talk about? There was the awkward undercurrent that she knew things about Cassandra that the Seeker had not chosen to share. Well, Audrey felt so at least. She knew she’d be uncomfortable in the situation Cassandra was in.

Would that change the easy rapport she had going on with Varric?

Then again, he had his business out in the open. He’d literally written a book about it all, and had spilled even more of the beans to Cassandra.

So stuck in her own world, she stumbled into Cassandra’s back when the other woman had stopped walking. Audrey gulped as she was reminded of how much taller she was than Cassandra. If Cassandra had turned the other way, the Seeker would have found her face being smothered by Audrey’s cleavage. Yet, the other woman had barely stumbled when she’d walked into her.

“Herald…”

“Audrey. We’re going to be working closely together. And uh, sorry. I kinda got stuck in my own head.”

“Herald. You are a civilian. Sheltered. The road ahead of us will be difficult, but know that you will not be alone. If have need of anything, do not be afraid to ask for it.”

“I… thank you. Cassandra. I look forward to working with you.”

Cassandra nodded and patted Audrey on the forearm, “The fate of the word rests on our shoulders. It would not do for you to shirk your duty due to undue stress. We need you to be strong, and focus on controlling your magical talent. And I forgive you for your undue familiarity. You may call me Cassandra.”

“What? Oh! I’m so sorry, I didn’t think!”

Cassandra smiled, “Perhaps you should spend some time with Lady Montilyet. She would make sure that you are well adjusted to… to how you are meant to act.”

Audrey gave a smile in return, feeling awkward as her teeth scraped over her lips. They felt too sharp. “Yeah, I think I will do that. I don’t want to insult anyone by mistake. On purpose, maybe.”

They started walking again, but Audrey made sure to try and stay beside Cassandra. It was as they were going up a set of familiar stairs that Cassandra once again pulled ahead.

“Solas. I am releasing the Herald into your care. See to it that she is prepared for the Fade tonight. I will return at sun down.”

“No need to worry, Seeker. She is in good hands.”

And with that, Cassandra left and Audrey was alone with Solas. Or almost alone, if not for the Templars she could see glinting out of the corner of her eye. 

“Soooo…. Let’s get started then? I would prefer not to be possessed, or otherwise harassed by demons.”

“Herald if you do not want to be ‘harassed by demons’ you need to purge that thought from your mind. The Fade reflects what you expect of it. If you begin to dream and expect for a demon to try and possess you, that is what you shall find.” He walked up to her. He was no longer hunched over when he walked, but it wasn’t quite the confident strut he did while lying to the Herald about the Foci either. His back was straight, and he was looking up at her. Audrey figured she was still pretty safe.

“Have you expressed any magic since you awoke?”

“Uh, I’ve noticed some ice forming when I’ve been really anxious. But, I’ve been able to stop it from getting really bad… and it was really only after I woke up. I don’t remember what happened while I was unconscious- is there a difference between that and natural sleep?”

Solas frowned,“As you progressed to wakefulness, that is, going from unconsciousness to natural sleep, you should have spent time in the fade. You do not remember it at all?”

“No. But, I figure you’re the expert so I should tell you. I don’t always remember my dreams, but mages do, right? Since you’re aware and all.”

“I appreciate that you trust me with this information. You were weakened… I apologize, I should have thought to look for you in the Fade. I should not have left you unguarded while you are so unprepared.”

“Oh, no, it’s fine, that’s what we’re here for right? So I don’t need any help to protect myself in the Fade. Just don’t take treats from strange spirits right? But, I wonder if it might be related to my lost memories from just before the conclave. Can a spirit do that?”

“Spirits can alter the memories of the unwary.” He folded his hands behind his back, “I do not want to teach you to fear the Fade. That will only lead for you to find horrors. Instead, you need to try and fall asleep with an open mind. A positive mind. It is strong emotions that will attract spirits and demons to you. Until you are better able to defend yourself, it would be best not to interact with spirits at all.”

“That’s understandable… but you realize, by telling me not to worry, it’ll probably just make me worry more?”

He snorted, “If that was the case, I would not be able to teach you anything, for fear of unsettling you. You can feel emotion in the Fade, but do not let your emotions control you. It is extreme emotions that you must take care not to express.” Solas paused, “Spirits are malleable in a way that we are not.  It is entirely possible to unwittingly influence spirits to reflect your expectations. Circle mages go into the Fade expecting monsters, and that is what they find there.”

“That makes sense.”

“We have time before sundown to do over some of the basics... I will begin by teaching an exercise to calm your emotions.” He gestured at her to follow him into the cabin behind him. They sat down on the floor of the cabin. Not an ideal situation, but better than sitting down on the snow outside.

And thus began an almost familiar talk on Mindfulness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again to Coma and Lonely!
> 
> Let us hope the muse gods will bless me more now that the semester is over.


End file.
